The Goose Girl's Chambermaid
by Jumping Bean
Summary: The Goose Girl, by the Brother's Grim left out a side of the story, this is the Servent's point of view.


The Goose Girl

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A birthday is supposed to be special, and no other birthday is as important as your sixteenth one. It is the day you are a proud, full grown woman, ready for marriage. For me my sixteenth birthday was on an old donkey behind the princess, about five miles from my Father and my sister and brother. I'm terribly claustaphobic as well; the fifteen or so guards surrounding us didn't settle my nerves either. The birds chirped loudly, and the princess insisted on riding her flaunting horse just slightly a head of me so I could admire her shining gold hair.

I never asked to be the chambermaid to this sniveling brat. I worked in a town, foolishly close to the castle. My mother had grown ill, my brother and sister too young to raise money, and our father wouldn't lift a finger to save anyone unless he was promised ale as a prize. It was simply up to me, I searched for work in vain, the bakery, the tailor, even the blacksmith all told me the same thing... 'If you want to work, go to the castle.' So I did, and now I'm being sent to a country that I've never heard of before, so that the princess can get married. I didn't even have a keepsake of my family; we left in such haste. True the princess' keepsake was a tissue with her mother's blood dripped on it, but it was better then nothing.

"I'm thirsty," the princess said to me, "fetch me my golden cup so I may have a drink." I had lost the golden cup a while back. While we were riding it became lose, I had only realized it was missing until recently.

"I... I am not your servant." I said. I knew that losing something that belongs to royalty is next to robbing the royal family. Of course denying the royal family is just as bad but, in literal terms, I am a chambermaid and technically there's no chamber in the forest... "If you want a drink, get it yourself." I mumbled, speaking as softly as I could as though I'd be struck by lighting if I dared say it louder.

The girl looked shocked; I don't believe that anyone had ever spoken to her so harshly. She slowly dismounted her great stallion, which I swear, scowled at me, and walked to the stream, lying on her stomach to take a drink of the sparkling stream. I was nervous, the Queen had warned me, if I did not manage to bring the Princess to the other country I was to be beheaded. Then who would raise money for my family?

Sobbing caught my attention; the girl's head was bent over the stream, tears flowing out of her eye sockets. I prayed to the lord that she wasn't sobbing because I didn't give her the golden cup. I had to force her along or else my head was the price.

"What's wrong?" I asked hurriedly, we still had miles to go before the sun set.

"You were acting cruel to me." The princess said, sniffing.

"But, your highness, there are bandits in the forest. If they saw the glimmer of gold that your cup would have made, they would have attacked you.?" I said, saying the first thing that popped into my head. Of course had there really been bandits, they would have attacked long ago, attracted to the spot by her hair. The princess simply looked up at me with teary eyes

"Really?" she asked. I was disgusted with her show of tears, she was a grown woman. Times were too hard to waste crying. The entire reason this girl was getting married to this prince was to stop the famine and reunite the two kingdoms. The other kingdom was very, very wealthy; the Queen hoped that this marriage would inspire the other kingdom to help ours. The poor princess was a peace offering, considered nothing to her own family but a trinket, or a bargaining chip.

"Yes, really, why are you really crying?"I asked, offering a corner of my apron to dry her eyes, instead she took hold of my skirt and blew her nose in it very loudly. I could feel the warmth of something wet and warm against my leg, I prayed that it was made mostly of tears.

"I guess... I really don't want to get married. I mean what if the prince is ugly or mean? Or is old, and lecherous?" She said, proving to be a true child.

"Well, your highness," I started carefully moving my leg away from the wet spot on my skirt. "What would you do? Everyone in your kingdom is starving." A picture of my gaunt siblings planted its self in my mind. I was hit violently with home sickness.

"I don't want to get married, Mama said that I could marry anyone I pleased, but she lied. Why didn't she send a noblewoman in my place and say that it was me?" She wailed I was discusted by how much of a child she was acting. Our entire country rested with her and she hadn't the deciency to even act as though she cared.

"Your have an obligation to your country." I began a speach that everyone had heard the queen lecture to her childeren at least five or six times, but she cut me off.

"No everyone serves me. You must switch places with me, and pretend to be me!" She said latching on to my arm. "Quick! Switch dresses with me!"

"Princess, if anyone finds out, I'll be murdered, do you really wish that?" I said, I knew my eyes where bluging out of there sockets in an unlady-like manner, if I died so would my family. The Princess ordered me to put on her royal gown, it was heavy, and itched terrible around the lace. I was delighted to watch here glance disgustedly at the mess her dainty little nose made on my skirt, and shift away from it.

"Come?" she ordered to me, gesturing with her arm as though I was a dog at her heels. Something I had seen the King do when ordering servants around, when he was still alive of course.

"Princess, you can not order me around. I'm the princess now." I told her, trying to convince her to change her mind. No such luck.

"Oh I must call you 'Princess' and you must call me 'Chambermaid,' what a game!" She said, her tears had dried by now. She was much too old for games; I knew she must have been older then marriageable age, but not by much. She should have been old enough to take care of her self, and realize her role in society just as everyone else had.

At the princess' request I tied both of our heads of hair under veils. I still thought you would have to be a moron not to realize who was who, but if the guards realized what had happened they didn't ask questions, or point it out.

We traveled in silence after that, only the rustling of the princess' gown on a foreign body, and the unnerving clacking of swords against chain mail seeming to say "die die die" with each heavy step the guards' monsterous horses took. The royal horse obviously didn't like me and recognized me as the imposter I was. Three times it tried to rear me off, and twice it attempted to bit me. By the time we reached the other kingdom, I was a wreck. There wasn't anything I wanted to do more then curl up on my cot and sleep, pretend it was all just a dream; my whole meager existence was just some horrid, long dream.

I stood in front of the old other king, he seemed so old and wise and fragile. His watery eyes peered at me; I thought he would discover who I was and send me to the gallows just by peering into my eyes. My knees knocked together and my hands shook. He moved his hand in an opaque gesture to someone by the door. The breath caught in my throat, surly he was signaling to the guardsmen to drag me away, instead the doors behind me swung open.

I twisted my head around to try and see who it was, then reminded myself that doing so was most likely rude and therefore punishable by death. I had heard terrible stories of cruel Kings that had imprisioned and killed towns folk simply because they bored Kings. I didn't want my karma to be any worse then it was right now. Impersonating a royal figure is the absolute worse crime imaginable, even if this was a different country. If I wasn't to be beheaded for dropping that accursed golden cup then I would be killed at least ten times over for this.

I suppose it's the price of kindness, sympathy can kill you. That is what my father had told us when our neighbors had caught the flu, I was young and stupid myself, and wanted to help them. I realize now that had I reached out a hand to help them, I would have caught the sickness and died along with them, most likely killing my family along side me.

"Princess," the old king was speaking again; it took me a full moment to realize that he was indeed talking to me. "This is my son, your future husband."

I nodded, not daring to look at the prince. Wouldn't it be ironic if he was impersonating the prince as I am the princess? I thought in terrified babble, then we shall marry, and perhaps the true royal children would marry as well, only in our jobs. A chambermaid and a goose boy.

"Why don't you show the princess around, so she can get to know her new home" The King said. It was amazing how his suggestions could be so commanding. So curtseying my way out, I was led around the gigantic stone castle, my false home to match my false identity.

"Your majesties," some one important, but still a servant approached us. He was out of breath as though he had been running, but with his wide berth it looked as though getting out of a chair would be exhausting. "What will you have done with the servant that you brought with you" He said to me after formal bowing was finished. The extra skin around his throat quivered as he spoke. I had never seen such a fat person, not even a pregent woman in my town had ever come close to being this wide. How much wealth did the royal family have? It seemed endless.

Yes, what would be done with the real royal princess? It will only be a matter of time before she would want her old life again, and if she shows her golden hair to the King, then I would be finished, having her in the castle would be much to risky. But outside is relatively safe, The king is so pale he probably rarely travels outside the castle walls. "Let her work, but something easy," I don't want her to complain too much. "A goose girl, she will be your new goose girl."

"That was kind of you," The prince said to me once the wide man had slowly trudged down the hallway. I looked up at him, for the first time. He wasn't bad looking, young with pale eyes and carefully combed hair.

"Thank you," I mumbled and stared down at the marble floor. It was so fine and extravagent, I felt horrible standing on it.

"Come I'll show you to our room." He said taking my hand, It was much larger then my own, soft rather pleasent. He lead me up a twining staircase, one with a magnifacent railing my brothers would love to slide down. My heart beat widely. Our room? Well of course, how many married couples slept in separate bedrooms?

It wasn't as bad as I had feared; the bed was very wide, and very soft. Probably stuffed with feathers, instead of corn husks or hay. The prince had to leave to attend a royal meeting, something only men could attend to. I was exhausted, but no matter how much I tossed and turned, I simply could not sleep. And so I decided to step outside, I was a princess now. I could go anywhere I wanted right? I have the absolute worse sense of direction, I got lost three times before I asked directions from a cowering footman how most of been at least a foot taller then I. Was this how pathetic I look when ever someone important had talked to me?

The stables were large and very well organized, horses that where more important, such as the ones that the royal family favored were nearer to the entrance, in the best stables. I found the princess' irritable stallion in the third to best stable. The first two claimed were, most likely, the King and princes' horses.

I attempted to draw the horse out, after all it would look odd had the princess been seen with a servant's horse, or worse a war horse. The stupid horse refused to even look at me. I tried bribing it with carrots, sugar and oats, I even tried asking nicely, it snorted in response. Finally my impatience won, I reached to grab the horse's bridal, the stupid creature bit me, drawing blood. I was simply outraged, how dare a lowly horse bite me? Why I, who am engaged to the royal prince?

The Prince found me later on, trying to clumsily wrap a strip of cloth around my arm. He took me firmly by my good arm to the physician, and held my hand while the doctor put a leach on my arm. The disgusting, worm like creatures did not settle well with my stomach.

"How did you get such a nasty gash?" He asked me, drawing my attention from the physician's practice. I stared up at his face greatful for the change of senary.

"That sullen, bad tempered royal horse." I replied wincing as something slimy landed on my arm. He obviously wanted me to elaborate, he raised a dashing eyebrow and nodded. "That horse that I arrived on, I merely wanted some fresh air, and that brute of a horse bit me when I tried to take him out of the stable."

"The horse shall be executed at once." The prince said his voice loud and firm, rough and cruel, like the voice I imagined the Grim Reaper to have. Was I supposed to take comfort from that? Executed? I thought It wasn't an attempt on my life, was it? What if the real princess trained him to bite anyone that wasn't her? Perhaps it would be for the best if that beast would be beheaded. Then there would be less of a chance of getting caught.

"Thank you." The physician was now wrapping my arm in clean linen.

"Maybe it would be for the best if a lady like you where to stay indoors from now on?" The Prince told me his brows furried together, I marveled how he still managed to look hansome and royal, even with his face twisted with emotion. I knew it was not a suggestion, it was a punishment. That was for almost getting hurt, had anything happened to me, I won't be able to produce 'royal' offspring. This was something royalty found very important. Royalty must marry royalty, that is how there is so much incest, which is illegal. But then again they are above the law.

So I remained indoors. For a very long time. The days of needlework and court all blured together. I watched as my hands turned from stumpy nail-less calsoused worker hands to soft long fingered ladies hands. The stone walls were always around me, pressing in. I started seeing shapes in the stone, laughing faces mocking my helplessness. I belive that I've gone mad, I found my self staring at the walls at night, and my dreams where filled with me being crushed. Often times I would awake with a start, gasping for air, some nights I screamed, the prince was always there to soothe my nerves. With him I felt safe at least, a shining hero like in all the books.

It was late at night while I was lying awake in bed when I relized, I trusted the prince complety. We had spent so much time together it was only logic that we had taken a liking to each other. I was actually happy to be with him, I found my self looking for him when ever I entered the banquet hall or was escorted to the walled gardenes.

And yet more days passed, and somthing miraculus happened, I was invited to a political banquent. The servents helped me into a very eleberate dress with so many golden buttens and lace and ribbions the servent's fingers turned bright apple red as they helped me into the gown. It was heavy and hot and difficult to walk in. Sitting down was a great task, having to arange my skirts so that I wouldn't sit on the hoop that gave it such a vulpturis shape, but I had to make sure it wouldn't bunch up oddly around me either.

I sat next to the prince with good posture. The King next to us, and with a terrified start, I reconized the real princess, and then I knew I was dead, dead, dead. No point in getting your hopes up might as well drink posion and go quietly then making a big sence. The King raised his eyes to look into my own.

"Princess." He said it so mockingly, but I was already dead so I did not cry nor beg for forgivness. A corpse doesn't care if it is thrown into boiling oil or trambled on by wild horses. "What punishment would you give for an imposter who was poseing as the royal princess?"

"They should be striped naked and put into a barrel with nails and that barrel should be draged by a horse until they are dead." That was the proper punishment, I had read it in thier libary when the ladies in waiting were being boring.

"You have just pronouced your own sentance, you are not the real princess." The King said with the triumgh of an old fool who rarly got anything right anymore, and refused to belive when he was wrong.

I heard a gasp beside me, before guards grabbed my arms and pulled me harshly from my seat. As I was forced into the barrel, I saw the prince and the goose girl, I called out to the prince to save me, I couldn't help it, the words blurted out of my mouth, he had told me he loved me once. The prince brought his face closer to the princess' they where kissing.

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The End 

Well I suppose that was a little depressing huh? I'm sorry about all the typos and grammer hic ups. Thanks for reading this far I'm honored. 

Jumping Bean 


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